The Southlands area in Weston is one of several areas in our community-led Liveable Neighbourhood (LN) programme. It is a residential area located northwest of Bath City Centre, approximately two miles from Bath Spa train station.
The Liveable Neighbourhood Programme aims to improve residential street environments and create more space for those that want to walk, wheel or cycle their short journeys.
Learn more about the LN programme including our aims and approaches.
Our proposals
During previous consultations, residents in Southlands told us that they were concerned about the volume and speed of through-traffic in the area.
To help tackle this issue, we trialled a through-traffic restriction on Southlands which became permanent in January 2024 after a six-month public consultation.
Read more about the through-traffic restriction trial and outcomes of the consultation.
We are now proposing to:
- replace the temporary planters at the point of the through-traffic restriction with a permanent modal filter
- replace the steep steps to the High Street with a gently sloping ramp
- improve the lighting and handrails on the paths leading to the High Street
- install a zebra crossing on Penn Hill Road
These improvements would mean:
- an attractive, permanent through-traffic restriction design that enables the emergency services to pass through the area by collapsing the bollard
- improved lighting and pedestrian access to the High Street shops, including for people with disabilities, mobility aids and pushchairs
- slower traffic speeds and a safer crossing on Penn Hill Road on a walk-to-school route
View the proposals on a map
Click on the numbers on the map to read a description of each proposal.
The numbers on the map correspond to the following annotations:
Proposals for Southland's through-traffic restriction
- Narrow a 5-metre stretch of road at the location of the restriction to create a 3-metre-wide cycle lane with wider pavements on the western side. Install bollards lining the pavements to prevent vehicles from bypassing the filter.
- Install a removable bollard in the centre of the lane, allowing cyclists/mobility scooters to pass through but not motor vehicles. Emergency service vehicles would be able to pass by removing the bollard.
- Vehicle access to homes would be maintained from either side of this restriction.
- Install a small planting area (3m x 2m) between the cycle lane and western pavement, maintained by volunteers.
- Install boulders around the perimeter of the grassed area to prevent people from driving on the grass.
Proposals for Penn Hill Road
- Install a zebra crossing near the entrance to Weston Bowling Club raised to the height of the pavement and incorporating tactile paving. This replaces the informal crossing.
- Widen the pavements on either side of the zebra crossing and narrow the road.
- Move the existing bus stop outside the bowling club opposite the junction with Southlands to improve the visibility of the crossing.
Paths from Southlands to the High Street
- Replace the steep steps leading to the High Street shops with a gently sloping ramp.
- Replace steps with two asphalt ramps.
- Replace lighting columns.
- Cut back overgrown hedges.
- Replace the steps by the shops with ramps and dropped kerbs.
Signage
The potential location of signage alerting road users to these proposed restrictions will be included later in detailed designs.
Download a leaflet explaining the aims of this LN and showing the proposals on a map.
Have your say
You can submit your feedback by completing the online form below.
You will need to provide your email address at the end of the survey. Responding to a questionnaire should take no more than 5 or 10 minutes. Please submit your feedback by 28 February 2025.
What happens next
We have already obtained funding from the UK Government (secured by the West of England Combined Authority) to install these improvements.
This follows several years of engagement and consultation with the community and rigorous shortlisting.
You can find more detail on how we developed this design by reading the 'Explore the context’ section on this web page.
Our intention is to:
- consider your feedback on these proposals
- draw up and publish more detailed designs
- inform residents and invite further feedback
- make any necessary amendments
- install the measures under standard Traffic Regulation Orders (where appropriate)
We will keep residents in the LN area (and neighbouring streets) informed of our progress by letter.
Traffic Regulation Orders
Find out more about how we decide on changes to road layouts using Traffic Regulation Orders.
Get in touch
We will collect your feedback using the online form on this webpage. However, if you require any help or support with the form, please email us at LNs@bathnes.gov.uk or call 01225 39 40 25 and request a call back from a team member.
Explore further context
Please expand the following headings to learn more about how we developed this design:
- In Autumn 2020, we asked residents across the district how they felt about LNs.
- View the consultation output report from January 2022.
- 48 communities then applied to become a LN, via ward councillors.
- You can request to view the original application for an LN for your area by emailing LNs@bathnes.gov.uk (the format cannot be made accessible for this web page).
- In June 2021, we prioritised areas where development of LNs could start (this included the Southlands area).
In December 2021, we asked for your feedback on what was good about the Southlands area, what transport-related issues you experience, and what improvements would make the most impact.
Out of the 1,625 responses submitted as part of our public engagement in December 2021, 67 people commented on the Southlands area.
Below is a summary of what people said about Southlands:
What is good about the area?
- 34 said 'strong community spirit'
- 31 said 'close to shops and services'
- 11 said 'safe and healthy environment'
What issues are experienced?
- 28 said 'through traffic'
- 25 said 'not enough space for wheeling, walking or cycling'
- 21 said 'speeding traffic'
- 16 said school run traffic'
- 12 said 'parking'
- 10 said 'poor facilities for disabled people'
What measures could improve the area?
- 30 said 'a restriction on through traffic or HGVs'
- 15 said 'new pedestrian crossings'
- 14 said 'new or wider footways'
- 14 said 'new or improved cycle lanes'
- 10 said 'trees and planting'
On 22 June 2022, we held a co-design workshop with 20 residents who had expressed an interest in staying involved in the process during earlier engagement.
Attendees took part in a series of exercises to identify what they liked about the area, what could be improved, and what specific measures could help, plotting these on a map of the area.
To see the maps and the longlist of ideas suggested by the community, please view the report below.
Our partner Sustrans helped to broaden our engagement by involving people in the community with different and seldom-heard voices. During co-design, they visited community groups to gather their feedback.
View the Sustrans workshop report.
In August 2022, attendees were invited back to review the outcomes of the workshop and prioritise their ideas, focusing on the original application area. These priorities were considered during later shortlisting to reach the final proposals.
Following the co-design workshop, we trialled a through-traffic restriction on Southlands for a minimum of six months from November 2022.
During this time, we monitored traffic and air quality impacts and gathered the views of residents and the wider public. In January 2024, a decision was made to make it permanent.
During the first half of 2023, we considered the wider community proposals for the area (in addition to the through-traffic restriction) against a range of criteria, working alongside local ward councillors to arrive at initial recommendations.
We scored proposals against set criteria to assess impacts.
View the early draft recommendation report (superseded by the Full Business Case proposal)
To secure the funds to install the LN programme it was necessary to submit a Full Business Case (FBC) to the West of England Combined Authority.
This involved appraising all early recommendations for each of the LN areas against the following criteria, to produce a final shortlist:
- Technical feasibility
- Alignment with the objectives of Liveable Neighbourhoods and community benefits
- Affordability/budget constraints
The shortlist was submitted to the West of England Combined Authority in a Full Business Case to be reviewed by its committee. The funding was secured on 20 September 2024.
View the press release on securing the grant from the FBC.
The Committee's report on the FBC is on page 45 of the Agenda Report Pack which includes a link to the Liveable Neighbourhood Full Business Case.
The shortlisted proposals for the Southlands area are presented under 'Our proposals' on this web page.
Liveable Neighbourhood project timeline
You can view a history of the development of Liveable Neighbourhoods and relevant reports on our project timeline.
To stay up to date with the project, you can:
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